November 25, 2015
TOKYO, JAPAN
Everything comes in three, but our year-end world title promotions repeat for more than three years. WBA 130-pound champ Takashi Uchiyama as well as WBA 112-pound ruler Hiroki Ioka will fight on New Year’s Eve in four consecutive years. Why do our television networks, exactly not our promoters, love to show boxing events in the end of the year? Simply because of getting high TV ratings since people take holidays after the closing of government and industry offices for the year and stay at home to watch television at home box offices. Under recession it might be more economical of time and money to watch TV rather than go out and spend money for gambling or drinking. Housewives also love their husbands to stay at home no matter what they might do rather than go outside for enjoying time of wine and roses. Boxing is interesting enough to attract men to stay at home to kill time during tedious holidays.
As previously, we will see many world championship bouts to be scheduled in the end of the year here in Japan, as follows:
December 29, Tokyo
WBO junior bantamweight champ Naoya Inoue will defend his belt against top contender Warlito Parenas of the Philippines in Tokyo. On the same bill, formerly two-class world titlist, veteran Japanese Akira Yaegashi will make an ambitious crack at the IBF junior flyweight belt against Mexican southpaw Javier Mendoza to aim for his third throne. We may see Erik Morales, Mendoza’s mentor and manager, here in Tokyo.
December 31, Tokyo
WBA super-feather super champ Takashi Uchiyama will put his belt on the line against Nicaraguan Oliver Flores, and his stablemate Ryoichi Taguchi will defend his WBA light-fly title against Luis De La Rosa of Colombia.
December 31, Osaka
Three-time world champ Hiroki Ioka will participate in a grudge fight with former titlist Juan Carlos Reveco, dethroned by Ioka here eight months ago, to defend his WBA flyweight throne in Osaka. IBF minimum titlist, veteran campaigner Katsunari Takayama will defend his diadem against Mexican Jose Argumedo in the semi-windup.
December 31, Nagoya
Having acquired a world belt just in his fifth pro bout, 20-year-old genius Kosei Tanaka will make his initial defense of the WBO minimum championship against Filipino Vic Saludar in Nagoya, the third biggest city in Japan.
Funny enough, last year, our fight scribes in Tokyo were watching Ioka fight in Osaka by small television while covering the defenses of Uchiyama and Taguchi at the press box. You may need a couple of televisions to see world title goes in Osaka and Nagoya while viewing the defenses of Uchiyama and Taguchi with your own eyes in Tokyo. Such an extravaganza for our fight scribes will happen again as history repeats itself also this year.
(11-25-2015)